Mailbox



Jan. 6, 1948.

S. M. ADDINGTON MAILBOX Filed Nov. 2, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 6, 1948. 5, ADDlNGTON 2,433,880

MAILBOX Filed NOV. 2, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I mm? Patented Jan. 6, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MAILBOX Sue M. Addington, Coral Gables, Fla.

Application'November 2, 1946, Serial No. 707,444

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in mail boxes and more particularly, to a signal for the mail box that will signal when mail is placed therein.

An important object of the invention is to provide a mail box of this character including an audible signal to be sounded when the postman has deposited mail in the box.

A further object is to provide a mail box having a hinged cover and a hinged front and an alarm arranged to be sounded by an opening movement of either th cover or the front.

A further object is to provide a device of this character of simple and practical construction, which is efiicient and reliable in operation, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view with parts shown in section.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view.

Figure 4 is a top plan view with the top cover in a raised position.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on a line 55 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the invention showing the top cover in a raised position.

Figure '7 is a perspective view showing the front flap and top cover in a raised position.

Figure 8 is an enlarged front elevational view of the switch box with its cover removed.

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken on a line 9-9 of Figure 8, and I Figure 10 is a circuit diagram showing how the invention is connected to a buzzer with an ordinary house circuit.

Referring now to the drawing in detail wherein for the purpose of illustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention the numeral 5 designates a rectangular box open at the top and upper front portion and having an eye 6 at the upper end of its lower front wall. A swingable flap 1 covers the open front portion of the box and is formed with its front surface slightly longer than itssides 8 and is pivoted at its rear upper edge to the box 5 by pins 9. The flap has a top It) with a letter slot l I therein for receiving letters. At the front end of flap 1 is an 1 Claim. (01. 23236) opening [2 through which eye 6 extends when the flap i in a closed position as shown in Figure 6.

A top cover [3 has its edges turned down to form flanges on its sides and front is pivotally mounted at its rear edge to the rear and upper edge of flap 1 by conventional hinge [5. To the inner surface of the sides of box 5 and near the top thereof is secured a switch box l6 by a rivet or other suitable fastening means. end of switch box IE and toward the rear of box 5 is an opening I! through which is extended circuit wires l8 and I9, said wires being connected to terminals 20 and 2| that extend inwardly from the rear and lower end of the switch box.

A resilient contact arm 22 is pivoted or rigidly secured at one end to terminal 2| and normally rests slightly below the terminal 26 as shown in Figure 8. An upwardly extending non-conductive rod 23 is secured in any suitable manner at its lower end to the free end of arm 22 and to the upper end of rod 23 is secured a coil spring 24. A thin chain 25 is fastened at its lower end to the upper end of spring 24, said chain extending through hole 26 in the top of the switch box and through hole 26a in the top of flap 1, the upper end of the same i fastened to the inner surface of the top cover l3.

When the top cover is raised slightly, the chain, spring and contact arm are pulled upwardly and contact arm 22 contacts the terminal 20 thus closing the circuit, spring 24 allowing the cover to raise completely without damaging arm 22. The circuit being closed energizes a bell or buzzer 21 which may be mounted in any suitable position remote from the mail box and the bell or buzzer continues to ring as long as the cover remains raised. When the cover is closed, arm 22 drops downwardly and breaks the circuit.

When the flap 1 is raised the top cover I3 is also raised by reason of its engagement under the cover and the circuit is again closed to sound the alarm. When it is desirable to lock v the flap 7 so that entrance to the box can only be made through slot l I, a look (not shown) is placed through eye 6 when flap I is in its lower position.

The wires l8 and 19 extend through the rear of box 5 and are connected to a bell or buzzer 21 and resistance coil 28 in any conventional manner so that ordinary house current may be used in the device.

In. view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the At the lower 3 construction, operation and advantages of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A mail box of the class described comprising a letter receiving portion, a switch secured to the receiving portion, said switch having a pair of terminals connected in an electric circuit, a resilient circuit closing arm carried on one terminal, a swingable flap pivotally connected. to the letter receiving portion, a top cover hingedly connected to the top of the flap, said cover being raised and lowered independently of the flap and said cover being engaged by the flap for REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,808,235 Lang June 2,1931 1,442,578 Landrum Jan. 16, 1923 20 1,005,004 Diemer Oct. 3,1911 

